Originally Posted by
Stoughton
It's not free. - It takes time and effort and work, sometime a small amount for high return, sometimes not, but it's still work. Many people don't have the time nor desire to add more tasks to their already busy lives.
While the Cap One card is a nice example of how to get a great return for minimal effort, it only worked if you already had a healthy balance in another account. Not everyone has the knowledge to get 100k easily (like the BA promo) and when faced with the task like spending $10k to get it via Citi AA, it becomes too much. They see "spend $10k" and back away
When you tell them of other means to "spend" the money, most get nervous and think it's not legal or there's some sort of catch. People like easy, not complicated, and aside from the quick bonus miles, much of it does take an amount of time and effort
Even something as simple as a coin order can require someone be available to sign for the package, having the time to ferry them to a bank, having a bank that'll take the coins, etc
On top of that, most people have been convinced that it's far too much work to get an award flight. They've been told over and over again that they'll face constant blackout dates or high fees or some other hassle
I think you got it, exactly....most people consider it too many hoops to jump through before they get the end result....30% of rebates are never claimed because people forget or fill them out wrong or miss a hoop.
Hoop 1 getting the right application and applying...with chance of denial and unknown consequences to thier credit score. also set up FF account if needed.
Hoop 2 qualifying spend...the negative thought of having to SPEND a few grand to gain the bonus, even if it's on stuff they buy anyway, or coins...even after explaining coins, some people think its a scam or illegal...and adding coins to the process adds a few additional hoops.
Hoop 3 after making sure to do everything needed, you hope the CC company posts the correct bonus to your FF account, if not you have to call and make sure points get posted, then the big hoop......
Hoop 4 find an award ticket to use the points on...we all know what a battle that can be, even for people like us, much less an average flyer.
The prize is at the end of the line of hoops, and in todays world of instant gratification, people dont want to look that far down the road and figure its easier to just focus their energy on their daily job, earn income and spend it on the flights or hotels they want...less hoops, less hassle
I agree personally the fewer people that jump on the bandwagon, the more points for us...so let most of them do it the old fashioned way and only enlighten the people that are interested and motivated enough to join us in our rewarding hobby/obsession.